Kentucky native and distinguished member of Music Row, Norro Wilson, passes away

Legendary songwriter, producer, and singer, Norro Wilson, passed away Thursday at the age of 79.
Photo by Jessica Bray, Kentucky Country Music.

Kentucky native, Norro Wilson, made a major impact on Music Row and in the Nashville community.  Sadly, he passed away at the age of 79 years old on Thursday, June 8, 2017.  His accomplishments and versatile abilities led him to be a distinguished member of the music community.

Coming from Scottsville, Kentucky, Norris "Norro" Wilson, would attend Wester Kentucky State College (now Western Kentucky University).  He earned a vocal scholarship and later moved just outside of Nashville when he joined the Southlanders gospel quartet.  In the late 1950s, he sang harmony for Ferlin Husky and Faron Young From songwriting to song plugging, he always had a pulse on the sound created in Music City.

Some of the songwriting co-writes of Norro Wilson include hit songs for George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Tanya Tucker, Charlie Rich, Lorrie Morgan, and many more.  Some of those hits include the following:

Delta Dawn

Baby, Baby (I Know You're a Lady)

A Very Special Love Song

The Grand Tour

The Most Beautiful Girl

A Picture of Me (Without You)

The Door

The Battle

He Loves Me All the Way

Another Lonely Song

For a few years near 1970, Norro Wilson pursued a solo recording artist career.  He was chosen for the Country Radio Seminar’s inaugural “New Faces of Country Music.” In 1970, his recording of "Do It to Someone You Love" peaked at No. 20.  It was written by fellow Kentuckian, Tom T. Hall.  Wilson won a best country song Grammy for "A Very Special Love Song," and in three consecutive years he won BMI's Country Songwriter of the Year award.

Norro Wilson co-produced many albums along the way with Buddy Cannon, paving the path for relatively newcomers into the universe of stardom and fame.  Among those include Shania Twain's debut album, Keith Whitley, John Anderson, John Michael Montgomery, Kenny Chesney, Chely Wright, Charley Pride, Sammy Kershaw, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Sara Evans, Reba McEntire, and many more.

In 1984, while working at RCA Records, he signed fellow Kentucky native, Keith Whitley, and produced his ep "A Hard Act to Follow."

In 1996, Norro Wilson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.  Wilson has won 39 awards from BMI, including five One Million Performance awards.  He also became a member of Western Kentucky University's Hall of Distinguished Alumni.  In 2008, he was inducted into the prestigious Kentucky Music Hall of Fame.  Inside their museum, there is a large exhibit featuring the works of Norro Wilson inside.

Tom T. Hall to have estate sale of antiques and music memorabilia

Tom T. Hall speaking about the Country Music Highway in Kentucky in 2011. - Photo by Jessica Bray.

Kentucky country music songwriting legend, Tom T. Hall is having an estate sale on October 22, 2016.  He is in the process of selling his estate and his home, which is known as Fox Hollow.  Fans can bid online on items owned by Tom T. Hall and his late wife, Dixie Hall.  The estate sale by Northgate Gallery in Brentwood, TN, includes a wide variety of valuable antique items from furniture to decorative items.  There are quite a few fox related items from the "Fox on the Run" songwriter.  There are also items presented to him by the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame.  Click here to view the items. 

Tom T. Hall had seven No. 1 singles, all self-penned: 
“A Week in a Country Jail” (1969–70)
“The Year That Clayton Delaney Died” (1971)
“(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine” (1972–73)” 
“I Love” (1973–74)
“Country Is” (1974)
“I Care” (1974–75)
“Faster Horses (the Cowboy and the Poet)” (1976). 

The Grammy winner also wrote hits for others, including “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” which Jeannie C. Riley took to No. 1 on country and pop charts in 1968, as well as “The Pool Shark,” a chart-topper for Dave Dudley; “(Margie’s at) the Lincoln Park Inn" and “That’s How I Got to Memphis,” recorded by Bobby Bare; and “Little Bitty,” which was a big hit for Alan Jackson in the late 1990s. 


In total, Hall has earned 31 BMI Awards for songwriting spanning country and pop genres, and six of his songs have accumulated more than one million performances each. In 2008, he was welcomed into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  In 2011, he was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame alongside his wife, Dixie.

Nashville News Roundup for week ending June 11, 2016

Here are this week's headlines as heard on the Nashville News Roundup on WFKY - Froggy 101.7 & 104.9. You can listen to me every Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. dishing the dirt on country music news and history.

Nashville TV Show is Back!

Fans of the tv series, Nashville, just found out that CMT and Hulu have picked up the series for their 5th season.  The Tennessean reported that, "the state put $8 million in its budget and Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has proposed a $1.375 million fund for film incentives, though the final amount for "Nashville" has not been announced."  The show helped the city with employment numbers of over $20 million each season with the use of local talent.  It also used a lot of music licensing to help songwriters release their songs to a bigger audience.  No word as to when the show will air for season 5.

From Elvis to Elvira

Stay tune on Thursday when I will post up my exclusive interview with Richard Sterban, the Oompa Papa Mow Wow of the Oak Ridge Boys! You'll learn about his journey of being in a gospel quartet that led to backing Elvis for a couple of years before entering the world of the Oak Ridge Boys.  By the way - did you see them perform with Blake Shelton on the CMT Music Awards?

History Making

Grand Ole Opry star and multiple Grammy Award winner Marty Stuart has amassed one of the largest private collections of memorabilia documenting country-music history. The Library of Congress announced mid May that the world’s largest library has acquired hundreds of hours of historic country-music footage, recordings and other audio-visual materials from Stuart’s vast collection. The audio-visual collection features more than 100 hours of footage shot on the road, including at the Grand Ole Opry; complete television episodes of "The Johnny Cash Show," "Flatt and Scruggs Grand Ole Opry" and the "Marty Stuart Show"; rare home movies of the Lester Flatt Band on tour; and music videos from throughout Stuart’s career, including the songs "Tempted," "Little Things" and "Burn Me Down." Stuart donated portions of the collection and the rest was acquired via purchase.

Awesome Possum Fact of the Week: On this day in 1974, Tom T. Hall quits the Grand Ole Opry over a conflict about the use of horns. Hall had played the Opry three days earlier and "didn't feel right" about not using his band.

Handpick Download of the Week: Mark Chesnutt - Oughta Miss Me By Now

Country Music Highway Road to Fame introduced by Kentucky Governor

Kentucky musician Tom T. Hall - photo by Jessica Blankenship

Sometimes it is in their blood, but not everyone is destined to be a country music legend. For those from Eastern Kentucky, there is a lot of history and country music legends that call Kentucky home. Traditions and songs have been passed on through generations. However, so many schools are facing tighter budgets that sometimes eliminate music programs.

Today, Governor Steve Beshear, along with Olive Hill native, Tom T. Hall, introduced the Country Music Highway Road to Fame Arts Education Fund. The nonprofit organization formed in conjunction with the Road to Fame, a yearlong program to find and showcase new and emerging talent along the Country Music Highway. The Fund's aim is to provide financial and educational support to music and arts programs in area schools. The fund will be administered via the Bluegrass Community Foundation. This program will help music education in schools without using a single dollar of taxpayers' money in Kentucky.

The Country Music Highway Road to Fame Arts Education Fund will help Kentucky students learn how music can bring joy to their lives. The Road to Fame contest will be looking for the next superstar from the same region that brought Loretta Lynn,Billy Ray Cyrus, Ricky Skaggs, Dwight Yoakam, The Judds, Patty Loveless, and Keith Whitley.

The “Country Music Highway Road to Fame” competition, set to begin in mid-March, will tap Eastern Kentucky’s musical roots to find the next generation of talent. The winner of the 2012 “Road to Fame” competition will receive a scholarship to participate in career development and coaching under the direction of PCG Nashville valued at $25,000, an acoustic guitar and a plaque recognizing their achievement. The contest will be open to aspiring artists 13-35 years of age from the 15 counties that border the Country Music Highway (US Route 23). Those counties include Letcher, Pike, Floyd, Johnson, Lawrence, Boyd, Greenup, Harlan, Petty, Knott, Magoffin, Morgan, Elliott, Carter, and Lewis. Details of the contest will be released on the “Country Music Highway Road to Fame” website. Potential contestants and interested parties should visit www.cmhroadtofame.com and register to receive announcements as they are made.

“I’m really excited about the competition because it will show that some of the best talent can be found in the hills of Eastern Kentucky,” said Country Music Hall of Fame Member Tom T. Hall about the talent residing in his home area of Kentucky.

“The Country Music Highway means so much to me. I grew up in that special part of Kentucky, as did so many of my friends who have also been fortunate enough to find careers in country music. And now the Country Music Highway folks have launched a great project they’re calling “The Road to Fame,” said Naomi Judd in an earlier statement. “Keeping music alive on stage and in schools is close to my heart. I encourage everyone to get behind this project. Please join me in supporting the “Road to Fame” and the difference it will make in the lives of our friends and neighbors.”

These initiatives announced today are already receiving support from corporate sponsors. The first to come on board are the Gibson Foundation, Crawdad’s Classics Gourmet Flavorings, PCG Nashville, Vietti Chili, Fairway Outdoor Advertising, TourSEKY, and Ray, Foley and Hensley Accounting.

For more information, contact: www.cmhroadtofame.com